Adjustable support for building structures



April 21, 1942. H. T. CROSBY ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES Filz d Aug. 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Shee't 1 W I t in u April 21, 1942. H. T. CROYSBY ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR BUILDING STRUdTURES Filed Aug. 5, 1939, 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A! I ll crete piers.

vide an adjustment Patented Apr. 21, 19 42 I UNITED STATES PATENT orrics ADJ UST'ABLE SUPPORT FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES Howard T. Crosby, Los Angeles, Calif. Application August 5, 1939, Serial No. 288,601 2 Claims. ,(ol. 72-77) This invention relates to supports for building structures, and particularlyto means for adjustably supporting the floor structure of a building.

In building construction it is common practice to support girders upon Wooden posts which in turn rest upon wooden blocks mounted on con- Due to inequalities in the settling of the different piers, shrinkage of the soil, shrinkage and warping of the lumber and many other factors, adjustment of the pier posts is rendered necessary to prevent cracked plaster, jammed doors, creaking floors, and othersymptoms of unequal bearing upon the pier posts. This has been accomplished in the past by merelywedging "shingles under the pier posts as necessary'to raise the individual posts It is an object of the present'invention to provide'a pier postwhich may be easily adjusted as settling, shrinkingwarping, and the like, take place.

It is anotherobjectof this inventionto pro-' vide a pier post which can be adjusted readily by means of a small wrench or the like by unskilled persons.

It is a further object of the invention toprofor pier posts which may be readily installed in pre-existing structures without extensive alteration.

It is a further object of theinvention to provide a pier postwhich can be used satisfactorily in localities where exert excessive side tures.

A still further object of the invention is the accomplishment of the above objects by means of a device which is simple, cheap, and easy to manufacture and install.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. For this purpose there is shown a form in the panying and forming part of the present specification. This form will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view showing one form of adjustable support contemplated by the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the device.

earthquakes and windstorms thrusts upon building struc- Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the base plate constituting part of the device.

Figure 5 is an elevational sectional view of a modified form of the invention; and,

Figure 6 is a transverse section taken on line 6-45 of Figure 5. In Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, one form 110; of the invention is shown installed beneath a concrete pier ll.

portion of the floor structure of a building. The device includes a base plate I ll mounted on a Theplate ID is preferably mounted on the concrete pier at the time of tea forming said pier, and the underside of said plate such as are encountered through earthquake plate Ill through the is-provided with a roughened or uneven surface l2which is imbedded in the concrete, whereby upon hardening of the pier, said plate is anchored against lateral displacement relative thereto which might otherwise be caused due to forces,

shocks.

An adjustable plate I5 is adjustably mounted for movement toward and away from the base adjusting bolts l6 passing through openings I! in said plate and having their lowerends bearing against the base plate in sockets l8 provided therein. Said bolts carry nuts 20 which bear against the underside of the adjusting plate in recessesZ! formed therein. The sides of said recesses correspond to the polygonal sides of the nuts so as to prevent their turning upon rotation of. the bolts therethrough to effect a raising or lowering of the plate 15. The upper ends of the adjusting bolts are provided with heads 22 by which they may be conveniently adjusted with a wrench or the like.

In order to positively insure against dislodgement of the adjusting plate and adjusting bolts from the base plate due to severe shocks, such as might be encountered in earthquakes, a rod 23 is anchored in the concrete pier, and extends through openings in both the base plate In and the adjusting plate l5, said rod 23 permitting movement of the adjusting plate toward and away from the base, but preventing lateral displacement thereof.

A load transmitting member or post 24, shown as being of metal tubular construction, is mounted upon the adjusting plate I5 and has its upper end bearing against another plate 25, nailed or otherwise secured to a girder of the floor structure, as shown at 26 in Figure 2. In order to prevent lateral displacement of the upper end agency of a plurality of of the post, the plate is provided with a depending portion 21, telescoping into the upper end of said tube. The lower end of the post is restrained against appreciable lateral displacement by an extended portion 28 on, the adjusting plate. Furthermore, the extended portion 28 is cooperable with the lower portion of the post to prevent said post against appreciable angular displacement with respect to the adjusting plate.

In case of intense shocks, such as are encountered in earthquakes, it is desirable to have a certain degree of flexibility in the device, but at the same time positively prevent undesirable displacement between the various parts. Such yieldability is effected in the present instance by providing relatively loose joints between the various parts of the device. For instance, it will be observed that spaces are provided between the ends of the post 24 and the portions 21 and 28 of the respective plates 25 and I5. Relatively loose joints are also provided between the adjusting plate i and the adjusting bolts andnuts, as well as between the bolts and walls of the sockets l8 of the base plate into which they enter.

As shown in Figure 1, the load transmitting member 24 may be rigidly secured to the floor structure as by providing braces 30 between the said member and the girders and joists 3|. One end of these braces is secured to a sectional collar 29 clampedly secured to the member 24, and their other ends may be nailed or otherwise suitably secured to the girders and joists.

The operation of this form of the invention should be clear. If for any reason it becomes necessary to alter the distance between the girders 3i and the pier I l, due to settling, shrinkage or warping of any of the parts of the structure, adjustment is had by turning the bolts 16 with a wrench applied to the heads 22 thereof. Excessive lateral movement of the. girder 3| with respect to the pier II is prevented by the braces 30 and the portions 21 and 28, all tending to prevent movement of plate I5 with respect to the girder 3|. Plate 15 is prevented from moving with respect to the pier II by the rod 23, and by the engagement of the adjusting bolts IS in the sockets l8 of the base plate Hi.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6, a base plate 40 is mounted upon a concrete pier 4|, and anadjusting plate 42 is mounted for movement toward and away from the base plate through the agency of adjusting bolts 43 similarily to the arrangement heretofore described. This form of adjustable support is adapted for use primarily where wooden pier posts are utilized in a building structure. One such post 44 is shown supported upon the adjusting plate 42, its lower end being secured against lateral displacement with respect thereto by lugs 46 provided on said adjusting plate, and nails 45 passing through said lugs into the post. The upper end of the post may be nailed or otherwise suitably secured to a girder 41 as by the braces 41'.

As in the form heretofore described, assurance against dislodgement of the adjusting plate 42 and bolts 43 with respect to the base plate is prevented by the rod 48 anchored in the pier 4| and slideable through an opening in the adjusting plate 42. The anchor rod 48 extends into a bore 49 in the pier post 44.

If it is desired to utilize a metal tubular pier post in conjunction with the adjustable pier block construction shown in Figures 5 and 6, a member such as 25 in the form shown in Figure 1 may be positioned between the lugs 46 on the adjustable plate 42, with the tubular portion thereof extending upwardly to receive the lower end of the tubular post.

The adjustable pier block construction, Figures 5 and 6, may be readily applied to pre-existing installations. In such a case, the wooden block, commonly employed between the lower end of the post and the pier, is removed and the device slid into place. It will be noted in Figure 6 that the lugs 46 extend around three sides only of the post 44 to permit such insertion. Of course, the rod 48 would have to be omitted from constructions in which it is desired to perform this substitution.

I claim:

1. .An adjustable supporting structure for buildings including a base, an adjusting member, means mounting said member for movement toward and away from said base, an elongated member extending from said base and cooperative with said adjusting member for holding it against lateral displacement with respect to said base, a pier post mounted on said adjusting member intermediate said member and the floor structure of a building, and means securing the upper end of said pier post to said floor structure.

2. An adjustable supporting structure for buildings including a base, an adjusting member, means mounting said member for movement toward and away from said base, an elongated member extending from said base and cooperative with said adjusting member for holding it against lateral displacement with respect to said base, a pier post mounted on said adjusting member intermediate said member and the floor structure of a building, means securing the upper end of said pier post to said floor structure, and a plurality of braces connecting said pier post with said floor structure.

HOWARD T. CROSBY. 

